EEE2008 : Project and Professional Issues
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Andrew Smith
- Lecturer: Mr Graham Cole
- Owning School: Engineering
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To develop the students’ planning, design, construction and communication skills through teamwork in a design based project
To provide students with the skills to understand the planning and management of technical projects, an appreciation of business organisation and planning, and the opportunity to practice these. To assist students with project activities within their undergraduate studies and to enable them to fulfil their roles as future engineering managers. To provide insight into issues of ethical and sustainable design.
Outline Of Syllabus
The group design and construction project within this module allows student to experience engineering project planning, demonstrate and develop teamworking and practical skills, and to create and present documentation to an appropriate engineering standard. The practical skills are developed via the design, construction, and testing of electronic subsystems for sensing and control, and the creation of programming code. System integration, fault finding, and performance optimisation will also be developed.
In addition to the project work, the business part of the module introduces key concepts in exploring, designing, and validating potential solutions to contemporary challenges which could be addressed using autonomous movement. Working within their teams, students will identify and describe an existing problem faced by a discrete stakeholder, using this knowledge of the “market” to scope a potential solution or “product” to articulate the concept of product-market fit through a value proposition. Potential solutions will be validated through primary research. Students will then present their results in a group business report.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 6:00 | 6:00 | System demo (incl. preparation time) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 8 | 2:00 | 16:00 | Business and Industrial Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Formative Feedback Session |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Introductory Lecture |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 35:00 | 35:00 | Writing Project Report |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 35:00 | 35:00 | Writing Business Report |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | Buggy Competition |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 2 | 3:00 | 6:00 | Computer Lab Sessions |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 9 | 3:00 | 27:00 | Electronics Lab Practical Sessions |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 69:00 | 69:00 | Independent Study |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures provide basic material and guidance. Most of the work is self-directed by the students with guidance from academic supervisors. Project work forms the major element of the module which is conducted in the school’s laboratories.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lab exercise | 30 | 2 | M | 35 | Two part System Demonstration. |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 2 | M | 40 | Group Buggy Project Report (4000 Words) |
| Report | 2 | M | 25 | Business Report (3000 Words) |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab exercise | 2 | M | Feedback from supervisor on current progress and understanding |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The module is entirely in-course assessed, requiring the students to work in groups.
The main aim of the engineering design is to build a prototype system for an autonomous electronic Buggy. The design tasks are systematically partitioned as three individual subsystems. Each student leads one of these subsystem designs, which is assessed based on the planning, communication, building, and troubleshooting capabilities. The subsystems and overall system demonstration allows for assessment of their design and practical skills, covering knowledge outcomes 1 (M1, M2, M3, M6, M12, M13) and 3 (M16), and skill outcomes 1-4 (M16, M17), (M1, M4), (M1, M2, M6, M12, M13), and (M3, M12, M13) respectively.
Writing skills are assessed in the project thesis which is generated as part of the module. This covers knowledge outcome 3 (M4, M17), and skill outcomes 1-2 (M16, M17) and (M1, M4) respectively.
The module also consists of business and entrepreneurial aspects, where students prepare a business case detailing an innovative solution to a contemporary challenge. The coursework gives the students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of market research, business organisation, their teamwork, and entrepreneurial skills. The group business report allows for the assessment of their innovation skills, covering skills outcomes 5-9 (M5, M7, M8, M9 and M17) and learning outcomes 4-7 (M5, M7,M15, M16 and M17)
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- EEE2008's Timetable